CHAMP ELECTRONICS -" THE VINTAGE VALVE
AMP HOSPITAL"

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND

MAC AMPLIFICATION EQUIPMENT

Mac
Amplification was formed in October 2007 as an
offshoot of Omega Communications, Leeds, UK. It is owned and run by
Howard Lister
& Angie Mitchell and runs alongside its parent company. The
company name
was chosen simply as a remembrance of our much loved family dog, Mac,
who sadly
died of cancer at the end of September 2007 aged only 7 years. As we
had been
involved with the repair of amplifiers and associated equipment for
some time,
we decided that a range of hand built amplifiers at realistic prices
would fill
a gap in the market and also provide a lasting tribute to
Macs’ name. It seemed
that if the customer wanted a hand built amp, they had the choice of
the
‘Boutique’ models (At
‘Boutique’ prices!) or the reissue models available
from
the well known manufacturers, again being made to pay over the odds for
the
privilege. It seemed a 60’s/70’s style amp would
fill the void between these and
the mass produced cheaper models.

Back in
the 60’s all amps were hand made and you
didn’t have to pay extra, why shouldn’t it be that
way now? It was decided that
a range of ‘No-frills’ valve (tube) amps would be
offered. These are based on a
well known classic British amp with a few up to date touches. After a
little
research on what was actually available, it also became apparent that
there was
also a gap in the market for a standalone valve (tube) reverb unit,
similar to
the Orange/Matamp/Fender ones that were available some time ago. It
would
appear that the Peter Green sound is sought after too! An updated
version of
this type of unit is also being produced.

To
complete the line-up, a range of 3 speaker
cabinets are also offered.

It was
decided from the outset that even though our
amps would be cheaper than those presently available, quality would not
be compromised.
All cabinets are made individually in-house by hand, from the best
Birch ply
and are covered with good quality Tolex; along with the use of British
made
hardware and fittings. The chassis’ are made from 2mm steel
with welded joints
and are powder coated. Valves and other components are all of the
highest
quality and are generously over rated, as are the transformers which
are hand
made in Nottingham, England by John; from “Champ
Electronics” (www.chambonino.com
) to original
Partridge specifications. Speaker cabinets are loaded with Celestion
speakers
as standard but, other brands/models would be used at the
customer’s request.

The range
available includes a 50w head, a 100w
head, valve reverb unit and speaker cabinets in 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12
versions.

The final
testing of the prototypes was carried out
by John; at the Champ Electronics workshop in Nottingham, UK.

The
chassis pictured above is that of the 50 watt
prototype model. As can be seen, it has not been powder coated. It is
shown
minus the aluminium heat-shield that will be fitted between the output
valves
and the row of smoothing caps.

The Mac 100 watt head is shown above, complete with the standard
powder-coated chassis .This amp features a unique output tube
combination of 2 x JJ E34L's and 2 x JJ KT77's. This is a Champ
Electronics feature which adds a whole new concept to the 100 watt
amp's sound ! The four output tubes' bias are individually controlled
too, making perfect matching a thing of the past.

The
origins that we have replicated in our amp can
be clearly seen in its layout and construction. Not only does it have
this
similarity, but also the tonal characteristics of the
‘Classic British Amp’.

In live
tests of the amp on stage, the performance
was quoted as “Awesome! Clean, crisp undistorted sound with
superb clean
headroom”. These comments were made by our friend Leon, who
normally runs
Matamp gear turned up to number11! (Leon doesn’t do things
quiet!). Leon also
informed us that, though he was only using the 50 watt prototype
“Mac head” and
matching “Mac 4 x 12 cabinet” they were
“holding there own” and even well above
the other two guitarist’s 100 watt heads and full 2 times 4 x
12” stacks!
Apparently the power stage overdrive at this level was incredible!!

The amps
are currently available for demo at
Northern Guitars in Leeds. The co-owner of this shop, Dusty Miller, is
also
keen to use one on stage in his Peter Green tribute band
“Green Mac”. He is
also currently using one of our tube reverb units. He sold his own
genuine
Matamp one after being given our demo unit. Our unit provides the sound
he
needs and is smaller and lighter. Dusty is making an attempt to get a
demo rig
out to the lead guitarist of a local (current chart) popular beat combo
by the
name of The Kaiser Chiefs!